1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a luggage loft assembly for supporting articles for overhead storage in a mass transit vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 AND 1.98
Luggage loft assemblies for supporting articles for overhead storage in a mass transit vehicle are known in the art. Such assemblies generally include a horizontal shelf panel for supporting articles and vertically oriented pillars or stanchions connected along and between an inboard edge of the shelf panel and the ceiling of a vehicle passenger compartment to support the shelf panel. Some luggage loft assemblies are also known to include provisions for supporting fluorescent lamps and/or air vents and reading lamps.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,186 issued 5 Jun. 2001 to Calnon (the Calnon patent) discloses a luggage loft assembly that includes an inner shell and an outer shell. The inner shell includes a generally horizontal integral shelf panel and a back wall that extends integrally upward from an outboard edge of the shelf panel and connects at an upper edge to the ceiling of a vehicle passenger compartment. The back wall supports the outboard edge of the shelf panel by suspending it from the ceiling. The outer shell is spaced below the inner shell forming a cavity between them. An inboard edge of the outer shell is connected to an inboard edge of the inner shell. An outboard edge of the outer shell connects to a wall of a vehicle passenger compartment to support the outboard edge of the outer shell. The cavity formed between the inner and outer shells is also partly defined by a wall and ceiling of the vehicle passenger compartment that the assembly is mounted in. A portion of the cavity is shaped to serve as an air duct or a portion of an air duct that extends longitudinally along the vehicle through several of the assemblies mounted longitudinally end-to-end along the cornice area of the passenger compartment of a mass transit vehicle. The luggage loft assembly of the Calnon patent includes vertically oriented pillars or stanchions each having a lower end connected along the joined inboard edges of the inner and outer shells. Upper ends of the stanchions are connectable to the ceiling of a vehicle passenger compartment to support the respective inboard edges of the inner and outer shells by suspending them from the ceiling. The outer shell is formed to include an elongated longitudinal accessory recess. The accessory recess is shaped to receive accessories such as air vent modules that direct air from the air duct into the passenger compartment and/or reading lamp modules that direct light into the seating area of a passenger compartment. The outer shell is also formed to include an elongated longitudinal lamp recess shaped to form an elongated lamp housing or reflector. The Calnon patent is assigned to the assignee of the present invention,
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, Transmatic Inc. has manufactured a luggage loft assembly similar to the one described above in that it includes an inner shell 12P having shelf panel 14P and a back wall 16P and an outer shell 26P spaced below the inner shell. An inboard edge 28P of the outer shell 26P is connected to an inboard edge 30P of the inner shell 12P and an outboard edge 32P of the outer shell 26P connects to a wall 36P of a vehicle passenger compartment. Also, as disclosed in the Calnon patent, the Transmatic assembly shown in FIG. 1 includes stanchions 38P connected at their lower ends along the joined inboard edges 30P, 32P of the inner and outer shells 12P, 26P and connectable at their upper ends to a compartment ceiling 22P. Also, the outer shell 26P is formed to include an elongated longitudinal accessory recess 56P and an elongated longitudinal lamp recess 68P. However, unlike the assembly disclosed in the Calnon patent, the outer shell 26P of the Transmatic assembly is supported from the vehicle ceiling 22P by straps 154P instead of by being fastened directly to the wall 36P. This arrangement leaves a large gap between the outboard edge 32P of the outer shell 26P and the wall 36P. An installer can use this gap to gain access to the inner shell 12P and to fasten the inner shell 12P to the ceiling 22P during installation. This obviates the need to install pre-positioned receiving hardware on the vehicle ceiling. A separate duct panel 156P is fabricated to close the gap between the outboard edge 32P of the outer shell 26P and a vehicle wall 36P and can be fabricated in different configurations as required to suit different vehicle applications. The outer shell 26P is formed to include an elongated longitudinal lighting recess 68P shaped to receive a fluorescent lamp fixture 70P. The inner and outer shells 12P, 26P comprise thermoplastic vac-formed to a uniform thickness of 4 mm, which is the maximum thickness that thermoplastic can presently be vac-formed to while including the requisite detail. However, this luggage loft design requires a large number of rivets and structural reinforcements to provide sufficient structural rigidity, and requires a significant amount of labor to assemble.
What is needed is a luggage loft assembly that requires fewer, easier to fabricate parts, and that is easier, quicker, and less expensive to assemble.